Council demo

They then took their protest to City of York Council’s West Offices HQ. They chanted outside the building until word reached them that council director Neil Ferris and Cllr Andrew Waller, who leads on the environment, would talk to them.

One of the demands of the group is that York council “recognises that we are in a climate emergency, and brings its policies in line with this, including but not limited to going carbon neutral by 2025”.

After the meeting Cllr Waller told YorkMix said that the council had already reduced its carbon emissions by 25%.

He favoured working with partners, including the Leeds City Region, to do more – as well as lobbying the Government to ensure national policies that curbed global warming CO2.

“I can understand how passionate they feel,” Cllr Waller said of the protesters. “We encourage them to engage with the democratic process and register to speak at council meetings.”